Title: The Saga of
the Ellen Jane: Inventing a Legend
Author: Timothy Klein
http://www.thesagaoftheellenjane.com/
Pages: 290
Year: 2012
Publisher: Stearman Press LLC
Hitler
is advancing; his thirst for power along with the desire for a pure race is
progressing across nations. The United
States has yet to declare war or join the allies to defeat the regime. So how can a lone pilot fly to the states,
come back loaded with boxes of assorted “toys”, and meet a quiet group in
Brazil who plans to add to the plane.
During the long flight, Mark can only think of one woman, the lady with the
beautiful French accent, Jeni.
No one in this small group is
exactly sure what Jeni’s past includes nor exactly how far she is willing to go
to get to the truth. Many think they
know, but she alone is aware of her actions. All she wants to do is stop Hitler. She is a spy, and like many women, she hates
what people assume she has done. All Mark knows is that she is beautiful and he longs for her. Joe is a missionary with his daughter, Sarah,
in the jungle of Brazil. Though they are
pacifists, they are about to decide whether or not to embark on a course that
challenges everything!
Hans is a double agent. Jake
owns the restaurant and airfield that is used by friend and foe alike. Joe is a minister who asks his daughter to
leave college and join him in Brazil after getting education as a nurse. Sven is the mechanic and miracle worker who
takes one type of plane and changes it into another. These are just a few of the other characters
in the story who belong to the exclusive club dedicated to fighting the Reich. What the Reich doesn’t know is just how small
the group really is that their fighting against.
The Saga of the Ellen Jane
is very different from other novels I have read. The author has been very willing to answer all
of my questions. Timothy Klein’s novel
is a lot like he is…different because the main character is not a person, but a
plane. The background scene is written
to actually highlight the plane with all the additions made so she becomes a
force to be reckoned with in the air.
The characters are shown to be fallen people, misunderstood, judgmental,
wanting to be known for someone other than what they are. Doesn’t that sound just like humanity? What is also expressed in the novel is mankind’s
choice to believe in God or fate. Also,
there is an expression by the characters of God’s love, His forgiveness, Jesus’
shed blood, and how intimately we are known by our Creator.
Timothy also has his characters
fighting against evil, even though they would rather not have to take lives to
do so. One aspect of the novel that is
unique is seeing the real character, sinful choices or not, and how he interacts
with what he thinks he knows. It is true
that we all tend to jump to conclusions by what we see, hear or think we know
about others. The writer includes this
trait of humanity as he develops the protagonists and antagonists, friends and
foes, male or female. Most of the time I
enjoyed reading this fictional saga with a plane as the main character, but occasionally
a part of the story would change, which I didn’t care for. There is one previous post on this blog,
which introduces Timothy Klein as an author. The next post is when I asked straight forward
questions to Timothy and received interesting as well as straight answers. Please feel free to visit the author’s website
to ask questions or leave comments for the author.
There are references to the upper
torso of the female anatomy intermittently throughout the novel, and it is easy
for the reader to understand the innuendos.
Caution: There is a description in the novel that refers
to the beginning of a sexual encounter without the explicit details. When I read that particular section to my
husband to ask what he thought, his answer was “it is a little bit too
descriptive for my tastes.” It is my
position that sexual intimacy is not
necessary to include into any fictional story. These types of “scenes” are not romance at all.
For true romance, read Genesis 2 and the
book of Solomon in the Bible. However,
the story was more about the airplanes than people or war. With two of the characters being missionaries,
Scripture is sprinkled in the novel as well. Kudos to the author for including Scripture
references in the story. Anyone who has
read WW II novels, biographies, plus other genre needs to remember that guys
named and decorated their planes with female portraits. The author, as far as I can tell, means no
disrespect to women at all. He is
telling a story about a WW II planes. In
fact, the plane is the central figure in the story and all else is just
backdrop. I know the author has a sequel
to this novel coming out. I learned a
lot about the real airplane that Timothy’s fictional one resembles by visiting
the authors website noted above. If you
like a good story with eclectic characters, scenes, and more, then add a copy
to your personal library!
My rating is 3 stars.
Note: I received a
complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely
my responsibility. Other reviews can be
read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/
. Also follow me on Twitter
@lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457
